Fitted suitcase construction



Feb. 24, 1931. S 1,794,305

FITTED SUIT CASE CONSTRUCTION Filed May 29. 1950 2 Sheets$heet l dbtmmqFeb. 24, 1931. A. H. LAST 1,794,305

FITTED SUIT CASE CONSTRUCTION Filed May 29, 1950 2 sneets she t 2Will/1114;

Patented Feb. 24, 1931 .rrc FE ALBERT n. LAsT,'or NEW YORK, 1v. Y.

FITTED sUITcAsE CONSTRUCTION Application filed May 29, 1930. Serial no,457,025.

This invention relates to luggage; more particularly, handluggage, suchas suitcases.

It is an object of my invention to provide hand luggage, such as asuitcase, including '8 fittings, and equivalent articlesor' toilettrie,as may be conveniently carried within the suitcase, and assemblethe samewith one of the elements comprising the suitcase, such as the cover, sothat when the suitcase is opened, 1 the body of the suitcase willsupport the cover and the cover, in turn, will support'the fit- V tingsand equivalent articles of toilettrie, to make the fittings easilyaccessible to the user.

It is contemplated by my invention to combine with a suitcase, fittingsincluding articles of toilettrie, which may be conveniently carried in asuitcase and which, when so carried, willnot in any way interfere withthe apparel stored in the suitcase, so that during transportation,fittings will not be dislodged upon the articles of clothing carried inthe suitcase, preventing soiling of the clothing.

It is further contemplated as an object of my invention to provide asuitcase which includes in the cover member, mountings for fittings, andassociating with the cover member, interiorly thereof, a shield orclosure, to thereby form, with the cover, a separate and independentcompartment whereby the littings carried by said mountings will, duringtransportation, if dislodged, avoid contact with the articles of apparelcarried in the suit case, to maintain both the articles of'apparel andthe fittings unsoiled due to contact with i each other.

A still further object of my invention re-v sides in the provision'or"hand luggage, such as a suitcase, which has provided in one of theelementsthereof, such as the cover member, mountings for articlesfottoilettrie, to have them conveniently accessible when the suitcase isopened, and to enclose the same ill a separate and independentcompartment, characterized by providing interiorly of said cover member,a shield or closure, and further characterized by simple and convenientstructural mounting for the shieldor cover to additionally provide withmthe suitcase,

mountings for articles of apparel, such as pouches or pockets andthereby increase-the capacity of the suitcase for storage and packingpurposes.

To attain these objectsand such further objects as may appear herein orbe hereinafter pointed out, I make reference to the accompanyingdrawing, forming a part thereof, in which Figure l is a perspective Viewof my device as embodied in a suitcase, with the suitcaseopened;

Figure 2 is of Figure 1; I V

Figure 3 is a front elevation oftlle OVer member, with the fittingcompartment c;losures in the open position Figure 4 is-a section takenon the line ,4-4t of Figure 2. f

Making reference to the. drawing, in my preferred embodiment, lassociate my invenion iii-connection with a suitcase 1 0. In thisconstruction, the body member 11 is of the character which has aclosureor cover 12, hingedly, mounted thereto, and arranged to bemaintained in an erect or vertical position, when the body member liesflat upon some-surface, such as a table, or chair, or the, like, and isprevented from falling backwards by straps 13. i y V I In thisconstruction, also, looking members, such as 14:, serve to maintain thebody member and cover member in locked relationship for shipment.

Preferably, within the cover member, in the side wall 15, there isprovided a plurality of fitting mountings 16, for holding such articlesof toilettrie, such as combs, hair brushes, nail files, mirrors, buffersand the like These fitting mountings, of the well known character,include straps aflixed to the wall, preferably including snap fastenerconnection to permitthe articles of toilettrie to be convenientlyremoved.

As this method of mounting fittings or ar- 0 a sectiontaken on. the line22 Y ticles of toilettrie does not form part of my inventiornno moredetailed description will be made. However, it is contemplated by me toavoid the annoyance of having these fittings or. articles of-toilettrieaccidentally become dislodged and come in contact with the clothingcarried in the suitcase. I therewe fore convert the cover member into aninde pendent compartment, and this I accomplish b" disoosin a 'air ofhin 'ed closure mem- J l b P bers 1'1 and 18, 111 illtllllg fasten nelements 19 in the nature of stra s llicllltilil com a n 7 J::,plementai snap Iasteners 20, to maintain the fitting mountings and fittngs carried thereb confined within a seoarate' com artment.

The closures 14 and 18 may be Cl1SpOSfi from the edge walls 21 and 22 ofthe suitcase. Preferably, however, 1 dispose intermediate walls 21 and22, dividing the cover member into three inde endent compar ments, 23,2e; and 25. From the edges 26 and 27 of the walls 21 and 22,respectively, the closuresl? and 18 are preferably mounted by a hingeconstruction. This hinge is formed by extending the covering fabric fromthe closures to the walls, the flexibility of the fabric serving as thehinge.

Disposed l e iorly of the compartment 24:, and affixed to use walls 21and 22,.respectively, I provide hinged spring fingers 28 These includean operating section 29,- pivotally mounted to the plate 30, and including a coiled'spring 31, to urge the section 29 outwardly. The section 29is provide'd'with a camming edge 32 and this edgetherebycontacts withthe interior wall of the closures 17 and 18 so that upon releaseof thesnap fastener-s20, engaging "the closures 17 and 18 with each other,they will immediately be urged to the open position, as illustrated inFigure 3.

Inward hinged movement of the closures 17 and 18 is prevented byproviding abutting ridges 26a and 27a at the top andbottom edges,respectively, of the cover member 12.

' Upon the interior face of the closures 17 and 18, I may provideadditional fitting mountings 17a and 18a, arranged to hold a mirror 17?)and 18b thereon. It will be observed that these mirrors may be removableand the fitting mountings, particularly'those disposed near the topcorners,'may be released by snap fastener elements,as shown.

By this construction, the closures 17 and 18 provided do not merelyserve to form an independent or separate compartment for the fittings orarticles of toilettrie retained within the compartment 24, but may beconveniently used, additionally, for in themselves supporting additionalarticles of toilettrie and to thereby enlarge the capacity for retainingthese articles. i i

Additionally,also,the interior face of the closures 17 and 18 may haveafiixed thereto pockets 170 and 180, provided with elastic edges 17d and18d, to make the exterior face of the closures available for additionalstorage space. Thus, by the construction provided, I increase thecapacity of the cover member for storage space, in no way defeated bysupplying the suitcase with'the fittings and fitting mountings on thecover member 12. Additionally, also, within the compartments 23 and 25 Imay provide pouches or pockets 23a and 25a, respectively, includingelastic edges 23b and 25?), forming a closure for these pockets.

It will be additionally observed that when the suitcase is mounted inposition, the body member 11 serves as a base for the lid 12 in thevertical position of the latter, and that when the closures 17 and 18are outwardly hinged tot-he position shown in F1gure 2 by the dottedlines, particularly overlapping the edge, the lid is held againstaccidental downward movement to the closed position thereof. Thus, theclosures 17 and 18, when mounted in position as described,ser've in thenatureof hinge stops to hold the lid and the fittings carried thereby,particularly the mirrors, in a vertical position. v I

By the construction illustrated and described, it will be observed thatan ordinary suitcase'may have provided on the interior face of the covermember, fitting mountings for holding fittings andequivalent articles oftoillettrie, to provide'a sanitary construcion for the fittings-andforthe articles of apparel carried inthe suitcase, by avoiding contactof these articles with each other, as may result fromaccidental.dislodgement of the fittings.

It will thus be observed thatI have not only provided the novelconstruction above described but have additionally increased thecapacity of the suitcase by providing ad ditional storage space a andcompartments resulting from tlllSCOIlStlIlCtlOIl.

It'will further be observed thatthe fittings ing a bottom member servingas a base from, which ,the lid thereof extendssubstantiallyperpendicularly when open, partitions with:

in the lid outlining a compartment for said fittings and; including insaid compartment fitting mountings, laterally hinged closure memberscarried by said partitions formed to pivot outwardly over the bottommember to a position rendering the contents of the bottom member freelyaccessible and to move to a position overlapping an edge-wall of thebottom member, to prevent accidental closure of the lid.

2. A suitcase including fittings comp'risin a bottom member and a lidtherefor, the bottom member serving as a base from which the lid thereofextends substantially perpendicularly when open, fitting mountings forsaid fittings carried by said lid, accessible in teriorly of said lid, apair of partition members carried by said lid outlining a separatecompartment for said fittings, closures carried by said partitionmembers, means for urging said closures to the open position laterallyin overlapping position over the upper edge of the side of the bottommember of said suitcase when said lid is substantially in the verticalposition whereby the lid is held against accidental movement to theclosed position.

8. A suitcase, comprising a lid member and a bottom member serving as abase from which the lid extends perpendicularly when open, a pair ofspaced laterally hinged closures carried by partitioning means in saidlid, and foldable inwardly of said lid in closed position intosubstantially coterminous contact, complemental fastening means carriedby said closures, said closures belng pivotable laterally and outwardlyto the open position into overlapping position over an edge wall of thebottom member.

In witness whereof I have hereimto signed my name this 20th day of May,1930.

' ALBERT H. LAST.

